Check out the recaps for SOL baseball teams in action Wednesday. UM/Wissahickon photos courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE for a gallery of photos.
Neshaminy/Pennsbury photo provided courtesy of Jesse Garber (https://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p521963750) PW/HH photo provided courtesy of Cindy Manero.
SOL National
Neshaminy 7, Pennsbury 4
First place was on the line in the SOL National on Wednesday, and unbeaten Neshaminy emerged with a hard-fought 7-4 win at home.
“We know, if we just come out and play our game, we’re going to be able to play with anybody and our pitchers are going to be able to pitch with anybody,” said Neshaminy coach Dan Toner. “It’s who has the better day. Luckily for us, it was us today.”
Neshaminy was out-hit by its rivals on Wednesday (9-5), but it had plenty of timely hits and also took advantage of five errors.
Pennsbury started quickly with a solo home run by third baseman Sam Ruta in the top of the first, but it didn’t take Neshaminy long to answer back.
Dalton Turner had a RBI double in the bottom of the first and R.J. Christie walked and later scored on a wild pitch in the second. The home team would never trail again.
“Every time somebody scores on us, we answer that following inning,” Toner said. “We’ve been doing that pretty much every single time. That’s what these guys have been doing all year. It’s a huge testament to them that they never get down and they know we can come back at any time.”
Turner added a two-run home run to make it a 4-1 game in the third.
Pennsbury cut it to 4-3 in the top of the fourth, as Drew Hensor drove in one with a groundout and Sean Doherty followed with an RBI single.
But again Neshaminy answered in the bottom of the fourth. Gus Natelli and Joe Kaleck had RBI singles and the third run scored on an error in the outfield.
On the mound, Max Temple picked up the win out of the bullpen for Neshaminy, going four innings and allowing just one earned run.
Pennsbury was led by Justin Massielo with three hits and Ruth with two hits. Sean Hochhausler pitched three scoreless innings of relief.
Pennsbury (8-3, 5-1 SOL) will next play Tuesday at Council Rock North.Neshaminy (9-0, 6-0 SOL) hosts Central Bucks East in a nonleague game on Thursday.
Pennsbury 100 210 0-4 9 4
Neshaminy 112 300 x-7 5 0
Harry S. Truman 8, William Tennent 3
Joey Wright went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, as Harry S. Truman jumped ahead early and cruised to a win over William Tennent in SOL National Conference play on Wednesday.
Truman scored three in the first and then added two more in the third and two in the fourth to take a commanding 7-0 advantage.
The first inning saw two errors sandwiched around a RBI single by Wright to make it 3-0. Two innings later, the lead was up to 5-0 as the Tigers took advantage of four walks, a dropped third strike and a passed ball.
Mike Finsley led off the fourth with a single, followed by a Dylan Jackson double. After another walk, Wright made it 7-0 with a two-run single.
Tennent, which was led by Evan Scally’s two hits, scored one in the fifth on a passed ball, and back-to-back bases loaded walks to D.J. Dickson and Xavier Delgado in the sixth inning.
Chris Taylor was strong on the mound for Truman, throwing four shutout innings to pick up the win. He did not allow an earned run, and scattered two hits and four walks. Dylan Jackson pitched the final three innings for the Tigers.
Truman (3-6, 2-3 SOL) returns Tuesday in a conference game at Council Rock South. Tennent (3-4, 0-4 SOL) plays at Pennridge on Tuesday.
Harry S. Truman 302 200 1-8 4 3
William Tennent 000 012 0-3 4 4
SOL American
Hatboro-Horsham 7, Plymouth Whitemarsh 2
Hatboro-Horsham took over sole possession of first place in the SOL American Conference with a convincing 7-2 win over Plymouth Whitemarsh on Wednesday.
“I am extremely proud of our guys and what they have done the first time through the league,” said H-H coach Pete Moore. “But as one of our assistant coaches, Brett Reynolds, said to the team, there is a lot of baseball left to be played.
“We have played well, but we have plenty of areas in which we can continue to improve.”
The two teams entered Wednesday tied atop the conference standings, and PW started quickly as Joe Jaconski doubled and scored on an error. But it wouldn’t take Hatboro-Horsham long to take over the game.
Benny Wilson doubled with one out in the second, and Anthony Liott followed with a RBI double. A Bradan Mallon triple scored Liott and put the Hatters up 2-1.
Anthony Bruno and Liott had RBI singles in the third to make it a 4-1 game.
The Hatters would add one in the fifth on an error, and then put the game away with a two-run single by Bruno in the seventh.
Bruno (2-for-4, 3 RBIs), Liott and Mallon all had two hits for H-H.
On the mound, Wilson picked up the win, allowing just one earned run on three hits and one walk. He struck out six in 6 2/3 innings, before giving way to Jimmy Tooley who recorded the final out in the seventh.
Kevin Reilly and Jacob Nunez had RBIs for PW.
“PW is one of the most, if not the most, talented teams in the league and they are very well-coached,” Moore said. “The next time we play them it is going to be an absolute battle.”
The Colonials (5-4, 5-2 SOL) will look to bounce back with a nonleague game at home Thursday against Quakertown. H-H (10-2, 6-1 SOL) has a nonleague game Thursday morning (11 a.m.) against Central Bucks South at home.
Hatboro-Horsham 022 010 2-7 8 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 100 001 0-2 3 3
Abington 11, Cheltenham 1 (5 innings)
Joey DiMaria allowed just one run (unearned) over five innings and Abington pounded out 12 hits to end a six-game losing streak with an 11-1 win over Cheltenham on Wednesday.
DiMaria (2-2) allowed just two hits and didn’t walk a batter, while striking out seven.
“He’s been our workhorse all year,” said Galloping Ghosts coach Jon Morrissette. “For three years, he’s been a great leader on our team.”
Offensively, Abington started quickly with four runs in the bottom of the first and later tacked on three in the fourth and three in the fifth to finish the game off with the 10-run mercy rule after five.
Jordan Grimaldi went 3-for-4 with a double, while Stephen Vogl was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Jamie Burkhart also had two hits, including a triple, while DiMaria drove in two runs. Griffin Wittenberg added a double and Kevin Worek had a triple.
Morrissette also pointed to the play of juniors Connor Hall (1-for-3, 2 RBIs) and Michael Angiolillo (squeeze bunt, 1 RBI).
“It was a great offensive effort all-around,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “We needed something for confidence going into our Spring Break.”
Cheltenham had two hits for the games, singles by Kieran Versaw-Barnes and Lukas Nakkula.
The Panthers slipped to 3-3 in the SOL (3-4 overall). They will host Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
Abington (3-8, 2-6 SOL) hosts Central Bucks East in a nonleague game on Monday.
Cheltenham 000 10-1 2 6
Abington 410 33-11 12 3
Wissahickon 6, Upper Dublin 2 (Resumed game)
Wissahickon finished off Upper Dublin in the completion of a suspended game from Monday on Wednesday afternoon.
“Quinn Rovner pitched phenomenal versus Upper Dublin,” said Wissahickon coach Andy Noga. “He pounded the strike zone and challenged the UD hitters. It was very impressive watching him go after their hitters.”
Rovner struck out 14 batters in going all seven innings, allowing just one earned run, two hits and three walks.
Bobby McFarland went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored for the Trojans. Joe Hornig was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Brian Hynes, Eddie Fortescue and Jackson Tappen all added RBIs.
“Offensively, we tried to be patient in our ABs against (UD starter Sean) Curran and worked some quality at-bats that turned into some runs which allowed Quinn to settle in,” Noga said.
Jarrod Matz had a two-run RBI single for Upper Dublin in the first innings. Jacob Womelsdorf had a double for the Flying Cardinals.
Wissahickon 110 112 0 -6 10 1
Upper Dublin 200 000 0-2 2 1
Upper Dublin 6, Springfield 4 (10 innings)
Brian McPeak’s two-run triple in the top of the 10th was the difference in this one, as Upper Dublin bounced back with a 6-4 win over Springfield in its second of two games on Wednesday afternoon.
Springfield led 2-1 going into the seventh inning as pitcher Ethan Hamilton was dominant, allowing just one earned run and four hits, without walking a batter. He struck out four.
In the seventh, Jacob Womelsdort reached on an error and went to second on a groundout by Kyle Rizzo. Chris Greve followed with a RBI single to tie the game.
“While Brian McPeak, Kyle Rizzo and Acharya provided the offensive firepower in the extra innings,” said UD coach Ed Wall, “it was Chris Greve’s RBI single in the top of the seventh that ignited the squad.”
After both teams were scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings, Upper Dublin struck first with four runs in the top of the 10th.
Elijah Peck led off with a walk, followed by a Lombardo single. McPeak scored both with his triple. Karan Acharya followed with an RBI double, and later scored on an error to put the Cardinals up 6-2.
Springfield scored twice in the bottom of the 10th, as two errors opened the door before reliever Peter Johnson recorded the final two outs to finish the game off.
Acharya picked up the win for UD, allowing just one run on one hit and three walks in six innings, while striking out four.
Springfield finished with four hits for the game. Max Perry, Brian Murphy and Ryan Deal had RBIs.
Springfield (2-8, 1-6 SOL) plays a nonleague game Thursday against Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy.Upper Dublin (6-4, 5-2 SOL) hosts Nueva Esperanza in a nonleague game Thursday.
Upper Dublin 000 100 100 4- 6 9 3
Springfield 010 100 000 2-4 4 3
Upper Moreland 6, Wissahickon 2
Ryan Gibbs and Garrett Garafalo had RBI doubles in the first inning, igniting Upper Moreland to a quick start in what would end up a 6-2 SOL American win on Wednesday.
Offensively, both teams finished with 10 hits, but timely hitting favored the Golden Bears. Shortstop Ben Paul went 3-for-3 with a double, while Jack Dombrowski and Garafalo had two hits each.
Wissahickon cut the deficit to 3-1 with a run in the bottom of the fourth on a RBI single by Eddie Fortescue.
But Upper Moreland countered with two of its own in the fifth and one more in the sixth.
In the fifth, Dombrowski singled and Paul doubled, and after a walk, a sac fly by Christian O’Donnell scored one and an error made it a 5-1 game. Dombrowski singled home UM’s sixth run in the sixth.
Colin Bates went six innings on the mound for the Bears, allowing just two unearned runs on nine hits, while striking out four. O’Donnell closed the game out with a scoreless seventh inning.
Upper Moreland (3-4, 2-4 SOL) is off until Tuesday when it plays at Cheltenham. Wissahickon (4-5, 3-4 SOL) has a nonleague game at home against St. Joseph’s Prep on Monday.
Upper Moreland 300 021 0-6 10 3
Wissahickon 000 101 0-2 10 2
SOL Continental
North Penn 10, Pennridge 2
North Penn scored twice in the top of the first and received solid pitching throughout, as it defeated rival Pennridge 10-2 in a SOL Continental game play at Second Street Playground.
It was North Penn’s third straight league win as it works toward bouncing back from a four-game losing streak, including three in the league, to start the season.
“We have a lot of work to do in order to reverse some things in the second half, but this is a special group of players,” sand Knights coach Kevin Manero. “And with a healthy lineup they are capable of a lot of good things.”
Back-to-back RBI doubles by Kolby Barrow and Jake Morello got the Knights started in the first inning, and the lead stood at 2-0 through three innings. Kyle Schulze made it 3-0 with a RBI single in the fourth.
Pennridge cut it to 3-2 with a pair of runs in the fifth, on RBI singles from Sean Clayton and Jack Goddess.
But North Penn answered right back with three in the sixth, including a fielder’s choice RBI by Ryan Feiser, a Jack Drelick RBI single and a Griffin Juckniewitz RBI single.
Colby Chan and Schulze had RBI doubles in the seventh, while pinch-hitter Alex Kee had a RBI single.
Chan ended up going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a RBI. Schulze and Drelick had two hits and two RBIs each.
“We got some nice contributions today from Colby Chan,” Manero said. “He’s a heck of a player and a very strong kid, who just hadn’t quite gotten his timing down. But I think his 3-for-4 today will go a long way to him getting more comfortable and confident in the middle part of the order.”
On the mound, Josh Lowe and Jason Krause combined for the win. Lowe allowed just two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, while Krause threw 2 1/3 scoreless in relief. They each only walked one batter.
“Our pitchers are continuing to walk very few batters and we’re doing a good job making the routine plays,” Manero said. “Those things are just so important in high school ball, and I think that’s been the foundation of our ability to turn some things around in the last week.”
Clayton led Pennridge with two hits and a RBI. Paul Croyle also had two hits.
The Rams (2-7, 0-6 SOL) host Southern Lehigh at Second Street Playground on Thursday.North Penn (5-5, 3-3 SOL) is off until Tuesday when it hosts first-place Souderton.
North Penn 200 104 3-10 12 1
Pennridge 000 020 0-2 6 0
Souderton 1, Quakertown 0 (12 innings)
Jacob Horton’s RBI single was only Souderton’s second hit in 12 innings but it ended up the game-winner as the Indians survived a classic pitchers’ duel to outlast visiting Quakertown on Wednesday, 1-0.
The pitching was spectacular for both teams.
Quakertown’s Cody Barbiero threw 6 1/3 shut-out innings and did not allow a hit, striking out eight and walking four. Reliever Dennis Pierce went 4 2/3, didn’t allow a hit, scattered eight walks and struck out seven.
Souderton starter Eric Richie struck out 12 and allowed just three hits and two walks in 5 2/3 shutout innings. Luke Taylor came out of the bullpen and in 6 1/3 innings, allowed just two hits and didn’t walk a batter, striking out nine.
“I was very impressed with our pitching today,” said Souderton coach Mike Childs. “Sophomore Eric Richie, coming in and making his first league start, striking out 12 and letting up no runs. Senior Luke Taylor came in and picked up where Eric left off.”
Souderton’s singles by Taylor and Horton in the 12th were the only hits the team managed all game.
“Mr. Clutch, Jake Horton, stepped up again in the 12th with the RBI single to win it,” Childs said. “This is the third or fourth time he’s done that for us this year."
Nolan Byrnes and Mason Hicks had two hits each for Quakertown.
Souderton (8-2, 6-0 SOL) is off until Tuesday when it plays at North Penn.Quakertown (6-2, 3-2 SOL) has a nonleague game Thursday at Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Quakertown 000 000 000 000-0 5 1
Souderton 000 000 000 001-1 2 0
Central Bucks South 3, Central Bucks West 2 (8 innings)
Central Bucks South rallied to tie the game in the seventh and then won it with a Jake Trachtenberg RBI single in the top of the eighth for a 3-2 final against rival Central Bucks West.
“At the plate, we had good at-bats all day, but we have struggled getting the timely hits lately,” said CB South coach Brian Klumpp. “I was proud of our guys for grinding this out, and keeping their heads up when we went down.
“We have great leadership in Joey Loynd, who kept the guys into the game and believing we were going to win that game.”
CB West was in great position to pull out the win, as it went up 2-1 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth on back-to-back RBI doubles by Tyler Dalzell and Brian Gilvary.
That’s where the score stood as pitchers on both sides held the offenses at bay. Ryan Rieber went 6 1/3 innings for CB South, allowing just one earned run on four hits, while striking out 10. Kevin Gillard recorded the final five outs for the Titans, allowing just one hit to pick up the win.
“Ryan Rieber was tremendous today,” Klumpp said. “He was aggressive in the zone and really kept us in the game. He has been a work horse this season for us and just isn’t getting the run support. But he doesn’t let that faze him.
“(Gillard) did a great job coming in and shutting the door when Ryan hit his pitch count.”
Joe Martino led off the seventh for CB South with a double and after a sacrifice by Connor McKeown, scored on a RBI ground out to second by Owen Petrich.
The Titans then did damage with two outs in the eighth, as Brock Veit hit a double and would score the winning run on a Trachtenberg single.
Matt McCarthy led CB West with two hits. Gilvary pitched five strong innings, allowing just one run (unearned) on two hits and three walks.
CB West (5-5, 2-3 SOL) returns Tuesday for a conference game at War Memorial Field against Central Bucks East.CB South (5-3, 4-2 SOL) plays Hatboro-Horsham in a nonleague game on Thursday (11 a.m.).
CB South 000 100 11-3 6 0
CB West 000 200 00-2 5 1
Non-league
Bensalem 5, Central Bucks East 0
Five runs in the bottom of the fifth were the difference as Bensalem broke up a pitchers’ duel to earn a 5-0 win over CB East in a nonleague cross-over game on Wednesday.
In the critical fifth inning, Bensalem took advantage of four errors, while Ryan Rooney drove in a run with a fielder’s choice groundout, and Rich Bordone added a RBI single.
Dom Grady pitched the first six innings for the Owls, striking out 10, while allowing just three hits and one walk. Logan Young came on to pitch the seventh and retired the side in just 11 pitches.
Offensively, Bordone was 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI. Grady and Matt Silano also added hits.
For CB East, starting pitcher Nick Bitsko was unhittable for four innings, allowing just one hit and walking two, while striking out 10.
Offensively, Colin Weber, Tommy Webb and David Bloom each had singles.
The Patriots (4-6, 2-4 SOL) will play at Neshaminy in a nonleague game on Thursday. Bensalem (5-2, 3-2 SOL), which has now won four games in a row, plays at Upper Merion in a nonleague game on Thursday.
Central Bucks East 000 000 0-0 3 6
Bensalem 000 050 x-5 4 1
Council Rock North 19, Northside Christian (S.C.) 0
With nine runs in the fourth and eight in the fifth, Council Rock North finished off Northside Christian 19-0 in a nonleague game played in Florida.
“The guys really got their feet under them down here in Florida,” said Indians coach Matt Schram.
CR North had 12 hits in the game, led by Kyle Wagner, who went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Andrew Mancini was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
The Indians’ nine-run fourth came with two outs, including three walks, two hit-by-pitches and two errors. Nick D’Apolito had a double in the inning, while Alex Estrada, Wagner and Tim Gibson had RBI singles.
Wagner added a two-run single in the fifth inning, which saw two more errors, and singles by Estrada and Connor Reisenberger.
On the mound, Estrada pitched four shutout innings, allowing just three hits and not walking a batter, while striking out three. Eric Woodhead pitched a scoreless fifth inning to close the game out.
“Alex Estrada pitched really well and efficient to get the win,” Schram said.
CR North (3-5) is back in action for the final game of its Florida trips on Thursday.
CR North 101 98-19 12 1
Northside Christian 000 00- 0 3 6
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